So you got a brand new camera? Here's what you need next

So you got a camera for Christmas?

If you're an experienced shooter with more gear than you know what to do with, then this article isn't for you. But if you just got your first camera, then welcome!

Getting your first camera is an exciting experience, but it can also be a bit overwhelming. This helpful starter guide will answer some of your questions and give you a pretty good idea of what accessories you should buy next to make the most of your new kit.

1. Doubtless this will cause disagreement, but I would get a filter to put on the front of my lens for basic physical protection. 2. I would definitely consider a spare battery and two cards, but most of all...3. If you are new to photography (as the article suggests) TAKE A PHOTOGRAPHIC COURSE to learn how to use your gear. Quite a few libraries provide free access to the lynda.com website and they have some excellent tutorials for all levels of users, and for quite a few models of camera.

definitely would put a small flash ahead of an external microphone. Best accessory I have purchased are the logi/tech attachment male/female connectors that let me swap straps, wrist strap, etc with a couple of clicks.

...I actually wish that someone had told me not to bother with anything beyond the kit lens and memory card until what are in my mind, absolute required purchases: #3) A decent monitor #4) A color calibration device

A spare battery should be top of the list, but hang on a minute, you've just bought a Canon that uses rip-off priced chipped batteries. So perhaps it's better if you just return the camera and forget about trying your hand at any photography!

Canon charges the same if not less than any camera manufacturer selling OEM batteries. It's just that generic batteries from China are cheap and you get what you pay for. Generic ones tend to form bubbles inside in a few years or even few months of extensive use. Why? Cheaper materials and loose QC. Are you willing to risk your multi-thousand dollar camera to save $40 by putting in a battery that has been topped off like a juice box? I've had many many Canon batteries last well over 10 years and they are still going strong. All my generic batteries either no longer charge or they've become tight fitting (liquid turning into gas bubbles) and slosh around when I press on it. Also, only pro Canon cameras like the 5d have this kind of warning, with generic batteries which you can agree to and use the generic batteries. Their non pro cameras like the 80D doesn't care if you insert a generic battery.

Hmm... I think that comment about what Canon cameras accept generic batteries may be inaccurate. I found from experience that the Canon 5DIII and 7DI were both OK with compatible batteries, however my newer generation of cameras, including the 7DII and the 80D did not accept generics without a warning message. So I have kept my (good quality) compatible batteries for the older bodies and used the Canon branded ones for the later bodies.

Don't forget a new desktop computer to go along with your shiny new camera. Might as well get a new laptop too because you never know. Oh and don't forget to sign up for Lightroom and pay the subscription fees. You can't use Photoshop Elements anymore because you know, you're a baller now with a DSLR in your hands. Did you practice your pose? People in the street will think you're a professional now so you need to practice your peacocking skills as you parade pass them.

Buy a prime. Or, instead, travel far away with your camera. The lens you have is enough to learn a lot about photographic vision. Shoot RAW. Remember, you take the photo. The camera just records it. Be happy.

Oh ... An the 'noise' everyone is talking about -- Although you might think it is the sound the camera makes when you press the shutter -- it is not. It is the sound Sony users make in DPR forums every time there is a new announcement from Canon. Either way, you will be needing good ear plugs.

view 1000s of photos online and study why they are appealing and see if you can produce a photo close to them! set your own style of photography, you won't find that in the books ;-) don't get too hang up with gear, not good for your sanity :-D

Ah, you missed an important one, if you don't have one already you'll need a Cat, as you'll need something to photograph for social media. Also remember to optimise your Cat's species/colour for your camera type. For example: Sony A7sII you want a Black Cat, also consider installing a Coal Cellar; with Canon camera you want a Cat with a good range of colours to admire; for the hipsters - Fuji is a Siamese, with Leica it needs to be a Sphynx (but Leica owners will know this already). Nikon is all white as it gives you a copy of their professional compact camera road-map...:-)

Actually the thing I liked most about the slide-show was pointing out the importance of padding in camera bags. There are too many "camera" bags that have no padding in the bottom and if you put them down a bit hard on concrete it can get expensive fast...

P.S. not a Cat owner so my Social Media is clearly lacking in that respect... however did help a lady try to rescue a shot of her Sphynx cat about a week ago.

Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung and Kingston are also brands worth considering, although I'd agree that Sandisk, Lexar and Transcend are perhaps the places to start looking. However any brand can have a card failure, so don't leave stuff on a card too long.

I never had a chip failure, but I have had lots of SD cards physically come apart (Kingston); more common is the card working, but not the lock switch -- it can be so loose you accidentally switch it on, or to write to a card can either become hit or miss; or the card becomes read-only. On cheap cards especially, one should also pay attention to how solid they feel.

I am now using the Samsungs with brushed aluminum front -- I thin I can drive my car over one without making a scratch.

never a cable release, but a cheap rf remote trigger is good. But I am guessing most camera have smartphone trigger of some sort. So the idea of a camera trigger is valid, but might not be necessary with some cameras.

"what accessories you should buy next to make the most of your new kit" - No need to buy anything. You've just bought a new camera, so use it to express yourself. Make photographs that are important to you, that communicate your unique perspective.

This "buy, buy, buy" isn't going to make you a better photographer - just a better consumer. Photography is a beautifully simple thing, requiring just a black box and a lens; the rest is all about the vision of the photographer.

Be reasonable, Richard! It much, much easier to write articles about buying new gear, new lenses, new cameras, new accessories. if you're in the business then vendors will loan you or even give you the latest to play with. If you write articles about old cameras, about the basics of quality, then you are going to get indifferent responses in the comments section from people who spent more on later models, the "megapixel crowd". it's the consumers that always buys the latest never mind the adequacy of the old that brought the technology to where it is today, thank you very much :-/

A while ago DPReview had an article by someone who found a Canon G5 in a thrift store. By coincidence, so did I. The challenge of its limitations have made demands on my skill and perception that have opened up new avenues for me.

You got a camera -- it is all about making pictures, do not fall on the buying-everything-just-in-case-that-might-make-you-a-better-photographer hype. It will not work. I have seen good photographers making astounding photos with a small sub $100 point and shoot, that is the skill you should be aiming at, and the tool to get you there you already have. As you shoot, you will discover what kind of photos you make, and will eventually understand how some additional investment can make you better at what you do. Instead of a tripod, you might find something like Joby Micro 800 works better for you -- ( I use mine more than I do the big Manfrotto I have) ...

Oh yeah... The first thing to learn, and a source of huge frustration is that what you perceive as a good scene in real life seldom translates to a good photo. Put the camera on Auto mode, and just get the hang of that discrepancy, and start figuring out why the good shots worked, and why the poorer ones didn't.

Speaking of Manfrotto ...I made a stabilizer with a D-Ring bolt and a length of paracord. There are articles on YouTube about making stabilizers with PVC piping. if you are creative enough to compose a good photograph then you should be creative enough to find a way to do without the But! Buy! Buy! approach.

People will tell you to read the manual. That is the last thing or maybe a thing you should never do. It will intimidate you and fill you with countless facts that you will have no idea on how to put together. Instead, watch some Youtube videos on the camera. Better yet, go to Tony Northrup's web page and view his video on how to use your new camera. Odds are that he will have one. Stay away from the manual unless you are looking for a specific item. But you can probably find something better on Youtube. Also you can download the book Stunning Digital Photography with over 14 hours of video for under $10.

Some youtube "how to use your camera" videos are excellent, but many are complete garbage, so check out several. And afterwards watch some youtube videos by professional photographers demonstrating how to compose photographs, understand light, understand you subject etc. Listening to a pro discussing his techniques is a great way to improve your photos.

Very true.Look at the works of and the interview with the Greats, the people who are classics, the likes of Ansel Adams and others and the mastery of light and composition. It is interesting how many of them worked in Black&White.

I dunno, I’ve always at least skimmed the manual soon after getting a new camera. Cameras these days have so many features, and thise features are often so obtusely named, that without a look through the manual I’d have no idea of half the things my camera can even do. I don’t try to memorize it or anything, but it’s good to have in the back of my mind so that when I’m thinking “Oh man, I wish I could get my camera to do X,” I can remember that I saw something about X in the manual and go look it up for next time.

I agree - I always download the camera manual before I buy a camera, to be absolutely sure of the features available and how they are accessed. And I carry the manual in my rucksack for a few weeks after buying the camera, "just in case".

Youtube videos are also often very useful - e.g. there are many good videos about how to optimise Canon DSLRs for birds in flight photography and about how to set up Sony a7 series for astrophotography and HDR landscapes.

If you already have the camera and a lens, I think you should hold off buying any new gear until you have shot a few thousand photos. Then ask yourself, what exactly do I need to get the shots I missed and how often would I use it.

I'm guilty of buying a haul of new gear when I get a new camera, then only using a small amount of it.

Yeah, exactly. Your new camera can do a ton of stuff! Use it for a while until you bump up against some of its limits, then find out what you’d need in order to help it overcome them.

Of course, I’m one of those people who throws a UV filter on every lens right at the beginning. But then, I’m also one of those people who will definitely scratch his lenses if he doesn’t do that. I know there’s a lot of argument about this but I feel like for a new photographer, putting some protection over the lens is a good plan. You can always take it off of you’re getting flare or ghosting, but you can’t un-scratch a lens.

I had a bracket and found it very useful when the camera was 'heavy' with a flash on top!. But I'd get a good strap first. The strap and the bracket both let you have a firmer, more stable grip on the larger cameras and help stabilize them and keep them pointed in the right direction!

I use a slide-style strap that attaches at the tripod mount, or sometimes a bracket for a Cotton Carrier Strapshot, which also attaches at the tripod mount. I use a tripod as well sometimes, but anyway I can’t have anything just permanently screwed to the bottom of my camera. So it really depends on your style of shooting! Leaving an L-bracket on might be good for a lot of people, but not everyone. You still need to know what your own personal needs are.

Anyway I find that most of the bumps my camera takes happen on the lens, and there’s not much to be done about that except be careful.

i would suggest forgetting about accessories for a moment and simply do 2 things first get yourself a few memory cards 16 or 32 gb is a sweet spot not too big or small.. and look into getting extra batteries once that's is out of the way spend your time with your camera as you would with a good book curl up with it and play practice focusing vary exposure ... how to access it quickly try out different isos and see what they do when you pixel peep ... get inside your camera .... it will be time well spent perhaps you'll need a tripod , maybe a close up lens set is what you need. but you'll only know when you get too it. buying lots of stuff you dont yet know you need is a pointless diversion

wait a few weeks.. try stuffm look at great shots by great shooters and see what simple honest photography looks like welcome to the brotherhood \sisterhood of real camera owners . you have done a rare thing enjoy its depth and richness in a way a phone cannot match

I agree with all of suggestions with one exception, the point of view that makes assumptions about the shooter. I acquired a camera body and two lenses to start and my fist accessory was an extra battery. They cost nothing next to a good lens, and I learned the hard way, that I was not very good at estimating remaining battery life. Since the name of the game, when you have a real camera, is to shoot more keepers of excellent quality, it is a shame to lose an entire event because you are not in the habit of keeping a charged spare. The tripod and all the rest came later. All told, it depends on the shooter's level of interest. If the camera is to be left forever on "P" you are probably good to go with a two-lens kit, not my cup of tea. I have seven lenses and at least three more I could easily make use of.

I got the M5 kit back in April. I've bought two lenses, both macros. The helicoid mount/adapter I bought a couple months ago is a blast to use. The cheap light ring I bought at Amazon is really helpful, use it all the time.

In my opinion what a first-timer needs is just the memory card (and maybe a basic camera bag) Many people will tell you that you need a bunch of accessories and better lenses; forget about that and just concentrate on learning your camera. Later you will discover what accesories or lenses you really need based on your style and phyographic habits, and avoiding buying accesories/lenses when you don’t really know how to use them properly will save you money to buy the right ones later.

Read your camera manual, learn the basics (even youtube videos or free tutorials can help if you don’t want/can’t pay some classes) and get out and USE your camera, even when it looks nice, it isn’t an ornament, it is a tool and you need to learn how to use it properly.

Best possible purchase for someone new to photography would to get some books or magazines featuring examples of top quality photography. Inspiration from other photographers is worth a thousand times more than another bit of kit.

1) As the article mentioned, first get a memory card (32 GB is sufficient enough to start) since most don't come with memory.

2) Read the manual (RTM or some others might put it, RTFM) to familiarize yourself with your new camera. Many new camera owners (even seasoned ones, including myself) try to blame their new camera for bad photos. Why? Every different model cameras functions and acts differently. Play with the settings to fit your needs.

For 1st time buyer, ones you're familiar with your new toy and getting the hang of it as people say, then start thinking of something to help you improve your skills. Need and want is totally different things. You can want without needing but you can't need without wanting.

If you're really new to photography, ie. always shoot on Auto and don't fully understand some of the manual modes (P, S, A, M) get a good book on exposure theory. It will help you see photographs in a new mindset, and help you get away from taking just snapshots to creatively shots. Once you master the exposure theory concepts, the rest comes pretty easy, and is mostly a matter of experimentation. But as some have mentioned below, read the manual at least once, to familiarize yourself with the camera. A good video on the subject also works and might be more preferable to those who are more visual learners, or ones that learn by doing. And I'd also recommend having your camera in front of you when you go through the book, or watch the video.

You are mostly correct. A bright lens in front of a sensor with a very clean 800 ISO can do an awful lot of work in that short zoom category. I certainly survived on one for a while, in a burgled situation where the rest of my gear went out the back window. It seems a logarithmic affair: there is a huge $1000 crowd, and a relatively sparse $10,000 audience a good number of whom crave capability more than opportunity. Depends on the money. For each there is a sweet spot.

As someone once said to me at a seminar: "Read the manual 3 times. The first time to get familiar with the camera, and the remaining two reads to get everything you didn't get in the first read." Nothing more frustrating than getting out on location, only to find out you don't know how to do something (like set up exposure bracketing or something like that). Better yet, download a copy of the manual to your phone too, that way you always have it with you (but it's not a crutch for not reading the manual first--a "just in case" you're in the heat of the battle and you draw a blank on how to do something in the camera...)

I strongly disagree about camera bags. I'm a very big believer in using ultra-cheap soft cooler bags, etc. as camera bags. First, they don't yell "expensive stuff!" Second, I can easily nest bags and pouches -- for example, I'll often use soft pouches inside a small bag inside a backpack, or throw a couple of different-sized bags in my suitcase so I can easily subset camera equipment with me to what I need that day. Third, many of these cheap bags are well padded and waterproof.

The only issue to be careful about is that new soft vinyl will sometimes outgas and over time you can get a haze depositing on lenses if that happens. Best to let the vinyl outgas in a warm place for a few days, and even then I don't use such bags for long-term storage of camera equipment.

entoman: Yet another reason why I like my "bag in a bag" concept... although I've never had water get in without my help (i.e., if you stow a wet thing in a waterproof bag, the water stays inside, with drips collecting at the bottom).

Suggestion: when you get a bag, get a bag that doesn't blatantly advertise brands like Lowepro, Manfrotto, etc (especially if you travel). Those just scream "photographer" and generally "expensive camera". I have a few, but I've ripped off all the badges they sew onto them,, so it's harder to tell what brand they are. I also use a Chrome backpack (they mainly make messenger bags and backpacks, but they do have some camera bags--and the average theif probably doesn't associated Chrome backpacks with camera gear).

Prof Hank, I'm also a big fan of the bag-in-a-bag concept. One of my favorite products are small, padded dry bags from a company called SealLine (which makes dry bags for activities like kayaking). Each one is nicely padded, the perfect size for most lenses or a DSLR body, and basically submersible once closed. I then pack these into a generic hiking pack.

Alas, I think SealLine stopped making these a few years ago, but I'm always on the watch for them just in case.

“Water/weather resistant” and “water proof” mean very different things. Specifically, “water resistant” doesn’t mean much at all (if you get some light spray it will probably bead off instead of soaking in, but that’s about it) whereas “waterproof” means you can be out in the rain all day, or in the case of bags and packs that you can actually submerge them under water and none will get in. The style of construction is usually very different—water resistant stuff usually looks normal but has special coatings to help it shed water, whereas waterproof gear is made with entirely different materials (rubber, thick PU coatings, special closures like rolltops, gaskets, or waterproof zippers) and is usually more expensive, heavier, and less comfortable. Water resistant gear is nice to have for a little extra protection just in case, but should never be relied on and will always fail in truly wet conditions. Waterproof gear is annoying and you don’t want it unless you need it.

anticipation_of: There are various levels of water/weather resistance/proofing, and most bags I've seen don't state a particular level. The "waterproof" bags I'm talking about are literally water tight (e.g., will hold water without leaking) thanks to vinyl/plastic inserts, but have closures that are not sealed for submersion. They are cheap, light, and padded with an insulating material.

Truth is, none of these -- including real underwater housings -- will keep your stuff dry if you open the container in a humid environment. Humidity that gets inside condenses when temperature drops to the dew point, which can easily happen when you get relatively cold water on the outside of the housing.

I was responding more to entoman’s comment about getting caught in a rainstorm with a “water resistant” bag and coming home with the contents soaking wet. That’s pretty much what I’d expect from a bag that wasn’t sold as being actually “water proof.”

And more generally I guess I was coming from my experiences with outdoor gear, where “waterproof” bags generally do come with watertight closures. I tend to buy hiking gear and adapt it for photography rather than buying photography-specific stuff (works better for my needs) and in that context I’d consider it false advertising if a “waterproof” bag didn’t have appropriate closures.

This is all without getting into actual standards and depth ratings and such. At the end of the day, “water resistant” and “waterproof” are not regulated terms, so they mean whatever the marketing department for the product wants them to.

Yes, you do need a memory card, but otherwise.....What about a nice monitor or TV, e.g. a 48"4K thing, to look at your pictures? This increases viewer experience more that the sum of the other stuff.Oh, you only look at your pics with your smartphone and your online friends do too? Then you need a trash bin.

Yep. I bought a 27" 4K monitor by LG (model MU88?) and a new graphics card (AMD Radeon RX-460) to work with it. What a great improvement over the old 22" Samsung HD monitor! Much easier on the eyes wrt much higher resolution and I like that screen adjustment for "reader" mode.

Indeed. The logic of 'more megapixels' without the ability to display them doesn't make a lot of sense.I send some images from my old canon G5, just 5Mpxl, to the print shop to make custom Christmas cards and they come out fine. Why bother with my APS-C 24Mpxls? The reduction algorithm manages to loose the details I think are important.

You forgot the flashes, the off camera triggers, the umbrellas, the ligther tripod, the heaver tripod, the brigther lens...the uwa lens...the bright uwa lens...the slow but sharper uwa lens (same but with zooms), and so on. Also don't forget about the computer and 4k screen.

It might have been a good idea (or not) to recommend a lens hood or filter to protect lens. Its so easy with a first camera to not be familiar how to hold it or how to change lenses if you got two lenses with your camera which can lead to nasty accidents and tears before breakfast.

SD cards and one or two extra batteries are basically the "essentials" as you get your first camera. A tripod is a must for some photographers, and the cleaning kit is highly appreciated after some outdoor use.

The very next thing you need to do, after getting your new camera, is to go to dxomark and find out how much dynamic range does it have. Then you have to check the MTF of the lens, and last but not least, the ISO in-variance and the exposure latitude. And only then decide if it can take pictures. Serioulsy, though.If somebody's got you a Canon M5, you need to carefully look around and find out who hates you so much. Then, it's a revenge time: buy her/him a windows phone or a Linux laptop :-D

On a serious note: I have the original , first version of the Eos M - And that has to be one of the most "dangerous" cameras ever built. It was so "clunky to use" that it almost killed my interest in photography.

I have since then got the Nikon D3300 , a "toy" camera compared to what most of you guys use. Still this Nikon D3300 is so much more fun to use than the Eos M1. Yes, the D3300 is bigger than Eos M.

That's why I just bought the Panasonic LX10. - And I will continue to enjoy snapping with my now 2 "toy-cams" D3300 alongside the LX10. :-)

@pagou ahahaha that's funny... so what happens when they want to install updates and it says no disk space when they have 400GB free? Oh now they need to run some commands to remove old kernel versions??? hahahaha

The Leica Q2 is a fixed-lens, full-frame camera sporting a new 47.3MP sensor and a sharp, stabilized 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens. It's styled like a traditional Leica M rangefinder and replaces the hugely popular original Leica Q (Typ 116), launched in 2015.

Fujifilm's GFX 50R takes the image quality from the existing 50S model and wraps it in a new body with new controls and a lower price of entry. Is that enough to tempt you to pick one up for yourself? Find out how the GFX 50R performs in our full review.

The Mavic Air hits the sweet spot for many drone users, combining compact size with high performance and good image quality. Find out what makes it so useful, and why it might just be the best travel-friendly drone on the market today.

Latest buying guides

If you're looking for a high-quality camera, you don't need to spend a ton of cash, nor do you need to buy the latest and greatest new product on the market. In our latest buying guide we've selected some cameras that while they're a bit older, still offer a lot of bang for the buck.

What's the best camera for under $500? These entry level cameras should be easy to use, offer good image quality and easily connect with a smartphone for sharing. In this buying guide we've rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing less than $500 and recommended the best.

Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Sony mirrorlses cameras in several categories to make your decisions easier.

Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Canon DSLRs in several categories to make your decisions easier.

Montana judge Dana L. Christensen has ruled the Republican National Committee did not infringe upon the copyright of photographer Erika Peterman after they took a photo from a Democratic candidate's Facebook page without permission and altered it to use in a derogatory promotional mailer.

Leica recently announced the Q2, a digital rangefinder with a fixed 28mm F1.7 lens. It's a heck of a lot of fun to shoot with, but is it right for you? Based on our time with the camera, and its specifications, we've examined how well-suited it is for common photography use-cases.

Now that our Panasonic Lumix S1R has final firmware, we couldn't wait to get out shooting with it - and we also tried the high-res mode, which combines files to get 187 megapixel images. Because sometimes, 47 megapixels just isn't enough.

Drones can be useful tools in urban areas, where they're utilized for everything from news reporting to building inspections, but flying in these areas requires careful preparation. Here's what you need to know to do so safely.